Black Thoughts
by PrisonofAnswers712
Summary: Deeply grieved by a personal loss, Sonic's sanity is badly damaged and continues to decay. But the deranged Doctor Eggman is not through with the cobalt hero yet. Thus, when the mad scientist's machinations reach a new level of depravity, Sonic submits to a darkness that may end up consuming them both. Is there anyone who can save the hero from himself? *Third requested fic*


PoC: This time I will be writing a fic requested by the user **coldstone4815**, to whom the title, genre, and general plot of this story are owed.

Metal: You absolute TOOL of an author! Since when did you start taking random requests?

PoC: Since ALWAYS red-eyes! Just no one ever asked me before (except Serenity). Don't blame me if you can't handle the sadness!

Silver: …

PoC: *Groans* And you know I didn't mean you…

Silver: Hee-hee…

PoC: Uh…Silver…?

Metal: Crazy again, let's put him down…*readies needle*

Silver: T-Too evil…too…dark…*faints*

Metal: *Tosses injection away* I had nothing to do with this one!

PoC: *Sighs* **PenFullofChaos819 admits that parts of this fic are dark enough to be categorized as M-rated. If you are disturbed by blood and strong implications of torture, read no further. This is the only warning I will give.**

**-l-**

**Black Thoughts**

**-l-**

"Calm yourself…" Shadow advised, seeing the clear signs and symptoms of rage etched on his blue lookalike's face. It was eating at him, tormenting him, and was now threatening to consume every shred of his being. Of anyone that understood ire like that, Shadow did. He saw in Sonic a mirror of his younger self; the self that lay deprived of meaning and purpose in life.

Slammed against a wall by the hero's wrath, Shadow heard him say "And WHY should I do that? Do you have any idea what I-do you even-URRGH!" Unable to articulate a single basic thought, Sonic released his noir twin. Normally, an act like that would've been grounds for a full-scale duel to the death. This…was the sole exception, as for the first time in their long rivalry; Shadow and Sonic were nearly seeing eye-to-eye.

Expectedly, this 'happy bonding' ritual brought no joy to the cobalt hedgehog. Hateful ideas swam through his head and burned through his veins. Every sight and smell was tainted by unpredictable flashbacks of _that_ moment. Nothing helped or soothed him, as it all reminded him…of…of…

Again his fist collided with something, something that shattered easily under his punch. Why couldn't he say, much less even _think_…'his' name? At best, each time he made a conscious try at it, some type of disaster followed. Not even just property suffered, for Sonic had provably attacked Shadow more than once over it. Simple as that: The name came to mind, and all Hell broke loose. Such vast anger had also kept him up several nights until, each time without fail, he blacked-out from exhaustion.

These latest developments were at least a small step in the right direction. In restraining his own temper, Shadow had remarkably gotten Sonic to sit down and give the matter a rest. The blue hero meanwhile knew he wasn't going to just up and forget about…well anything, anytime soon. Yet while shakily accepting a warm beverage from the stone-faced Shadow, Sonic involuntarily let the name slip past his lips.

"Tails…"

L

*Elsewhere*

L

Outside a particular residence, the close by hillside was sparkling green and dotted with a rainbow of flowers, while the morning birds were melodious about the arrival of spring. The heavens too shone with numerous sliver-lined clouds, making a 'God-light' effect that could brighten anyone's spirits. Swirls of the sweet, dewy scent of new life accompanied the colorful hills and shining skies. There was, in all honesty, not a single negative aspect of this lovely day.

But for a few, sullen others…nothing about that morning could've been more unpleasant.

Inside the aforementioned house, a motherly rabbit pulled back a set of curtains to allow some of the gentle light in. Not a full minute after she'd stepped away, her sensitive ears picked up a sliding sound. Turning back around, she saw her work undone, along with some slight movement from under a blanket. Somberly understanding the situation, the caring parent shut the room's door softly. She could've fought it, scolded her little one for behaving in such a way, but this was not the time. Some wounds were still too fresh…for all of them.

Just then, she heard a knock at the door. After slipping off her rather grimy apron, the woman answered the visitor and smiled faintly "Amy dear, what brings you here?"

Outside a petite hedgehog girl stepped in carrying two semi-full bags and replied "Sorry for stopping by so early. I just…well since you two were nice enough to let me stay here for a few days, I thought I'd help you guys out. You know, with times being tough and all…" In her short stay, Amy had seen that Vanilla's health was anything but ideal ever since…the incident. She assumed it had something to do with her daughter, but regardless felt sorry for troubling the kindly pair.

"Oh Amy, you didn't have to." The good-spirited parent said, offering to help the charitable teen with her load "But…thank you very much. Cream, my sweet baby, hasn't said a word for days. *Sniff* I try every day, but nothing seems to help. I can understand though. I know what it's like to lose a loved one." Dabbing her eyes, the brown-eyed rabbit struggled for composure. Amy understood these signs well enough to offer her friend a seat. Sadly, this…was the first time Amy had been so calm, so mature about almost anything. She wasn't proud of the reason, not in the least, but helping others had become much easier ever since…Eggman had…

Like everyone else, she hated him for it. She hated that ugly doctor's repulsive face. It was strange too, for Amy had always thought that as long as Sonic came back from his battles, nothing else would really bother her. How…wrong she had been. It wasn't just that her hero was morally crushed either. Hearing that someone she'd known, trusted, and even admired at times was never coming back…was too awful. That scumbag Robotnik could NEVER be forgiven for what he'd done! Not even…in death.

"Amy…are you alright?" Vanilla's voice snapped her away from such inappropriate thoughts. What had she been thinking? Hurt Eggman? Kill him even? What would that change? Would his death fix the hole inside Sonic, or heal the mental scarring on an innocent Cream? Just as she was pondering this, she heard the motherly figure say "How silly of me, of course not. None of us are 'alright'. But Amy…" here Vanilla took one of her hands and said "Don't give in to hate. Don't let bitterness stain your thoughts black. The minute you allow evil into your heart…you become as hopeless and miserable as the very people you hate." Setting the pink hedgehog's hand down again, Vanilla continued "If that means being sad and letting your sorrows out, so be it. Anything is better than festering in your anger. But don't forget that you still have friends left, friends that love you dearly."

Hearing these honest, vivid words of wisdom, Amy's relaxed exterior trembled. Here she was, having come all this way to help out a hurting friend, yet it's the hurting one that ends up helping her. Touched and eased by Vanilla's purity, Amy gasped as her eyes began to water. Just when she thought she had it all under control, the motherly rabbit sat up and embraced her. Amy's sympathy for Sonic, her sorrow for the fallen, and her anger for the mad doctor all spilled out in the form of hot tears. Feebly, she returned the loving hug, but was surprised to feel another, smaller set of hands already encircling the caring provider.

"M-Mommy…" the shaken voice of Cream sniffled out. Now crying her own tears of both joy and pain, Vanilla embraced the two girls empathetically.

…

Right when nothing could be more hopeless, time had at last allowed this tender and sweet moment to pass over these three…

…but…time was also notorious for it's wicked irony.

Precious moments after the girls had been given a chance to mend; a powerful explosion sent the trio hurtling to the floor. When they gazed up, dazed and surprised, two of the three screamed when the saw who this crude and unmannerly arrival was…

A pair of heartless machines carelessly tossed aside invasive furniture to make way for a large, imposing figure. Removing his partially damaged spectacles, the towering human showed them his disturbing red eyes and said "Hmm…yes…I do believe _Rose_s are better colored red, wouldn't you agree, Metal Sonic?"

"Yes doctor." A cold, mindless voice answered the insane comment, and clamped down on an unsuspecting Amy. Frightened and upset out of her wits, the hedgehog girl alternated between struggling in the clone's grasp and glaring at the psychotic mastermind. Angered by this sight, Cream had, humorously and unwisely, gotten her hands on Amy's hammer and smacked the lord of machines with all her might. Unaffected, but insulted by the frail attack the doppelganger's eyes locked on her as he raised his clawed hand up to retaliate. Terror stricken by the mighty robot, the helpless rabbit dropped the mallet and retreated into her mother's arms.

Though clearly enjoying the scene unfold, Eggman stopped him short by saying "Ah-ah-ah…stand down Metal. We only need this one for our gallant hero's 'rescue'." Though evidently not in full agreement with this, Metal eventually disengaged and departed with his master.

Beyond scared for Amy's current fate, Vanilla wasted no time in grabbing her still intact phone and started dialing…fast.

L

*Near Sonic's place*

L

It wasn't the best time to be dropping in, but he felt nonetheless inclined to be there for the one he called 'true blue'. And if anyone asked, the answer was yes. Yes, Knuckles was ignorant on the subject of personal loss. Having been alone for most of his life, the burly echidna couldn't comprehend the pain of losing someone, not mention if that someone was like a little brother/son to you. Well…maybe he understood part of it. After all, on the night of that fateful day, the tribal mobian gave up any trace of sleep in exchange for long, solemn prayers. And why not? A good kid's soul had been stolen that day. It was the cruelest and most disgusting crime any human or mobian could ever have committed.

Now seeing the darkened house in front of him, Knuckles knew he'd have to be on his guard. Sure enough, upon entering the messy abode, the echidna was forced to dodge as one of those annoying machines that made that 'ring' sound was flung randomly in his direction. While he couldn't blame Sonic for disposing of such a common nuisance, the act was aggressive enough to make even Knuckles jump a little. He'd never seen the cool-headed Sonic so enraged in all their long rivalry.

A nearby Shadow sighed and offered the disturbed Knuckles a nod and said "You know…that _was_ the only landline this place had." He illustrated his point by holding up the mangled phone cord, which had been ripped out of the wall by sheer force.

Sonic meanwhile didn't seem to care or even heed the damage he'd caused. All the cobalt hedgehog knew was that the thing's ring had made him spill hot coffee all over himself, so he believed the wretched phone had gotten what it deserved. If all this hadn't the result of some fairly serious angst, Knuckles would've risked chuckling at the unlikely situation.

In his irritation and possible humiliation, Sonic excused himself abruptly; disappearing into another room with the slam of a door. Now that they were alone and able to talk freely, the echidna asked "So…how is he? You know, besides the uh…'therapeutic demolition'?" his witty spin on things didn't lighten Shadow's acerbic demeanor at all. In any case, part of the answer was practically written on the grim hedgehog's face.

"His sanity hangs by a frayed thread." Shadow said at last, his words carrying a foreboding tone "If but the slightest trauma were to be inflicted, his mind may very well break…entirely." Each word out of the hybrid hedgehog's mouth grew increasingly…sympathetic, a concept thought to be all but foreign to a cold person like Shadow. It was so strong that Knuckles almost had the pluck to ask Shadow why he cared so much at all. However…in a rare moment of critical thinking, the echidna felt he understood why. Perhaps by helping Sonic now, Shadow felt able to atone for part of his troubled past. Naturally, this was just a guess, but it did seem to make sense.

Then out of nowhere a ringtone sounded off, breaking the moment of discomforting thought and silence. Shadow in response brought out his hidden handheld "I thought I told Rouge not to call unle-…? It's…not her." Confused by the unfamiliar number the hedgehog answered it gruffly "Who is this?" He demanded, but cooled his temper when he heard the reply "…my apologies, Mrs. Vanilla, but why have you contacted me?" He assumed she must've obtained his number from the bat thief at some point, but that fact was of little consequence when he heard what she had to say.

The maroon guardian was every bit as interested when he saw the level-minded hedgehog grow pale. Whatever had been said, it left Shadow, for a few seconds, too stunned to reply. After the shock had diffused, the dark one's rage set in as he said "He WHAT? Grrgh…of all the-what is that fool thinking? Hasn't the doctor caused enough damage?" A faint plea could be heard on the other end, causing Shadow to say "…no I won't. Sonic doesn't need to know. I'll go myself. Knuckles is here too, so he can watch the faker while I-ARGH!"

He hadn't blinked, yet faster than the echidna's eyes could catch; Shadow had by some method been slammed viciously into the floor, rendering him unconscious. Knuckles saw that the phone had slipped out of the hedgehog's hand and onto the floor, with Vanilla now frantically asking what had happened. Before the echidna could make a single move towards it, his eyes saw something red and pointed smash the device's screen in.

Gulping nervously, Knuckles looked up to see a figure radiating a cold, death-like aura.

It's empty sclera-only eyes froze the echidna in place as he heard a voice say "Sleep…" Afterwards, a breath-stealing force crashed into his chest, causing the guardian to fall to his knees. There was no pain, or if there was it was too great for him to register. Gradually, his eyes lidded and his energy departed, indeed sending the loyal mobian in to a deep slumber.

The figure continued to stare ominously over it's victims "I could hear…every word…" The hollow, raspy voice of the creature said "Eye for eye…tooth for tooth…wicked blood will be spilt today." Frigid anger was excreted by the newborn monster's every word. With it's heart now soiled beyond recognition, the being ignored the two injured mobians and broke it's way out of the residence…and proceeded then to travel across the green-bladed plains.

It's unholy screams of anguish could be heard all the way to it's destination.

L

*With Amy*

L

Such a stench…much worse than the expected, run-of-the-mill industrial zone. She had been captured enough times to know how these grimy cells should smell. It was usually like Tails' old house, except that Eggman's factories always harbored a tainted, twisted scent of abused machinery. Rancid as it typically would be, she eventually had learned to ignore the general rankness.

But…this place, it reeked of something new; something far worse than expired oil filled her nostrils this time. The scent was very pungent…yes like spoiled food…no, more like rotting meat. Yes, that's what it was most like: A nasty, gone-bad steak that should've been thrown out months ago. So…either the jerk doctor had tossed her into his personal landfill, or else…this stench was…

Suddenly, the lights clicked on. Amy tried to hold it in, really she did, but…the terrible sight was too much to bear.

Dotted all around her, were the bodies of butchered creatures. Everywhere she looked, from common, non-mobian cottontails to members of the rarer Flicky-clan, the tormented husks of innocent animals lay strewn across the messy floor. Amy didn't know whether to cry or vomit, until both reactions were stifled by the nerve-grating sound of…a knife being sharpened.

"I'll never know why I chose robotics as my calling." A demented out-of-sight speaker announced for no apparent reason "I make a much better taxidermist, wouldn't you agree?" The pink hedgehog didn't even have to ask who it was, and as such remained locked in brave silence. Sadly, seeing that recognizable egg-shaped body, bibbed and holding a crimson-stained knife, was more than enough to make her scream. Wickedly enough, the stark-raving madman grinned excitedly at her terror.

"Mmm…yes, yes…very good my dear." The lost-soul that had been Robotnik hissed out "Your screams are a gratifying change from that stubborn fox-child's empty threats." Amy's stomached turned at the thought of Sonic's sweet-hearted brother being subjected to all this. Worse…where was he now…? No, she didn't want to know. It was awful enough just knowing he was dead… Tears slipped down her cheeks when she imagined the sort of pain this cruel human had inflicted upon someone so gentle and pure.

Waddling off to a darkened corner of, God-knows-where they were, the doctor shuffled something around. Fearing the worst, Amy strained in her bonds, but found the metal clasps to be too strong to break, and too tight to summon her hammer. While her struggle continued, the now beyond-cracked Eggman returned to her with a sadistic grin "Now, now, what's all that for? I'm not going to harm you just yet! Don't you want to see my masterpiece first?"

Knowing EXACTLY what he meant, Amy shut her eyes tightly. A time of silence passed…but soon the gritty sound of metal on metal again rang in her sensitive ears, pumping deep anxiety through her bloodstream. Operating on her knee-jerk impulses, the young hedgehog's eyes shot open, effectively instilling a terror she would never fully recover from.

There…in front of her very eyes…was…a doll. A stuffed creature no doubt made with the remains of…

Shrieks of absolute horror erupted from her chalk-dry mouth. Nearly mind-crushed by this event, Amy watched through tear-blurred vision as Eggman set his defiled creation on the ground in a 'sitting' position "Beautiful, isn't he? The Tails Doll, my finest work of art yet." She heard him say, but was yet too paralyzed to reply back.

Gazing happily down at his 'craftsmanship' Eggman nodded and sighed "But this little dolly looks lonely. It needs a just-as-lovely Sonic Doll to play with! Don't you agree?" He sounded…so elated, so pleased with his insanity. Amy knew the doctor was into doing bad, but she'd seen him do good before! Even if he was a self-seeking oaf at most times, the Eggman she knew was nowhere near being a monster like this. Why…how…what had made him fall so far…?

"You, little Miss Rose, will be lovely bait for my next trophy. But…I believe fresh bait requires the proper 'stuffing' first!" He laughed heartlessly, whilst walking towards the door of his private room. Amy saw the doctor leave, but could still see him past a small oval window. The doctor began sifting through some more tools of his. The horrifying line-up of items he produced made the pink hedgehog's skin crawl. She knew now…in just a few seconds she'd be…gone too. Though scared to death about how much it would hurt, Amy chose to spend her remaining minutes of life focused on one thing….or rather….one person.

"Sonic…please." She begged weakly "Don't blame yourself…for this. *Sniff* Just remember that Tails and I…we…w-we both…l-"

A bang, an explosion interrupted her thoughts. What was happening? Noises…so many of them, and they were getting closer. Cracking, creaking, crying sounds, all of machinery being ruptured and torn apart. A mixed feeling of fear and hope stirred inside her, for she knew…she knew _he_ had come for her… "Oh…just be careful Sonic…"

Now the innermost dens of this horrid place groaned. He was close now…so close. All at once the room she was confined in shook under a terrible shockwave. Such power, too much power, even for Sonic…or _was_ it Sonic? The hedgehog hero she knew was famed for making fast but silent work of Eggman's goons. Whatever was attacking her prison right now was producing the strength and volume of an earthquake. Could even Shadow make such an impact?

There was little time to ponder this before the room Eggman sat in was blown wide open. A gust of outside air blew the pink girl's way, but it was not the fresh scent of early-spring air. It was a frosty, lifeless gale of stagnant winter winds. Not only was the draft a chilly one, it also felt…sinister? A deathly presence, not unlike the snapped Egg-doctor himself, had seemingly come in the place of her beloved savior. Needless to say, whoever or whatever had entered did not give her a sense of safety at all.

Nevertheless, Amy did peer past her small window to watch the scene unfold. Aside from the doctor's expected look of sheer fright, Amy noticed a black…smoke obscure her sight for the time being. Listening close, she heard a shout, a gasping, and then…a full blown shriek. The smoky substance cleared just in time to give her a perfect view of how her 'rescue' had transpired.

And…more importantly…who was behind it.

L

*?*

L

"Yes…that's right…squeal…squirm…writhe in my torment." The monster thought, utterly overjoyed to watch the doctor's gurgled cries of pain "Do you hear it? My soul…screams. It screams for me to rip out your rich red innards!" the demonic presence savored the last of it's unforgivably vile execution with a ghastly grin. Once the final drops of his foe's life had drained out, the evil one discarded the corpse with little regard. Vengeance was his, justice had been served, and now his friend…could rest….in…peace?

These concluding thoughts had brought something other than darkness into the creature's jaded mind. Slowly, but steadily, the exhausting load of stress was lifted from the beast's shoulders. His form convulsed and collapsed to the ground in agony. Little by little, light found it's way back into the creature's eyes, changing it's form entirely…

When the figure rose again, it now had a royal blue hue, and had it's whitened-out eyes filled an emerald green glow "Uhh…? What's going…on? Where is this?" The revived figure spoke, in the voice of it's original body: Sonic the hedgehog "I…thought I was…at home…and then I heard Shadow talking to someone…something about…" When his mind had at last cleared, the cobalt mobian shouted "AMY!"

His head snapped to and fro frantically until he saw someone strung up on a chain. Blasting through the narrow door with all urgency, Sonic rushed to the side of his, thankfully still breathing, companion "Ames, just hold on! I'll cut you loose." A flash later and she was free, but…oddly enough…didn't rush into his arms as expected. Still oblivious to his surroundings and, more importantly to himself, the cocky hero opened his arms wide and said "Hey come on Ames…it's alright see? I won't get mad this time, I promise."

Despite his calming words, Amy still kept her distance. Very perplexed and even a little hurt, Sonic took one more step and said "Amy…what's wrong? Why are you looking at me…like…that…-ah!" That's when…he saw it too. His white-gloved hands…were stained dark red. His torso was no better, being every bit as tainted as his palms. The blue hedgehog could feel no injury of his own…so that could only mean…

Suddenly, it all came back to him: Breaking into Eggman's fort, demolishing every cheap copy robot, and then…killing the main man himself. With his eyes narrowed in a queasy stare, Sonic vividly recalled his cruelty. Worse than that, all the animals dead at his feet made the hero wonder if he'd…done even more unspeakable acts of violence.

Stumbling backwards in total mortified fear of…himself, the hero collided with something eerily soft on the ground. His scared eyes turned to meet those of the gloomy Tails Doll, staring seemingly into the depths of his ruined soul…

It was quite certain that in that moment…Sonic's heart had shattered to pieces.

Yelps, cries, howls, and shouts of despair poured out of the fallen mobian's damaged psyche. In a desperate rush, Amy watched her hero scramble out of the torture chamber with great difficulty. Even so, he was yet much too fast for her to stop, and soon enough he was gone to…goodness knows where.

Partially blaming herself for not comforting him in his most desperate hour, Amy sprinted off after him. So once again, Amy found herself chasing her idol down, as she often did when needing his attention or salvation…but this time…

…this time she would have to save _him_…from himself.

L

*An hour later*

L

She ran and ran, trusting her instincts to guide her now more than ever. It didn't matter how far she had to go; she would find him, no, she _had_ to find him. That last look she'd seen on his face was…too awful to describe. It was the look of a person…on the edge, ready to give up…ready to…die… But no…she couldn't let that happen, she couldn't allow another terrible loss. Hadn't Eggman stolen enough from them? Why did anyone else need to suffer?

"Oh please…God…anyone…please…" She begged, prepared to hinge herself on anything that would lead her to him "Let me find him, let me see Sonic one last time! That's all I need…just a few short minutes with him…"

Right as her limbs verged upon total collapse, Amy brushed her quilled bangs aside to see her fervent prayer answered.

On the edge of a cliff overlooking the vast sea, stood Sonic, still covered in the blood of his greatest enemy. Despite still being a good distance away from him, Amy could see his forearms shaking erratically. Of far more concern than that, was the fact that he was slowly working his way closer to the path's end. Soon, very soon, he would be less than one step away from his certain doom.

While calling out for him at the top of her lungs, Amy ran in spite of her massive fatigue. Struggling to keep herself from passing out was challenge enough, but trying to stop him now when he was still so far away…seemed an almost impossible feat by comparison. If he wouldn't heed her voice…she knew it would all be over. He had to listen to her…he had to understand…

But…it was too late…

Slipping at last from her own oxygen-deprived muscles, Amy tumbled to the ground painfully. She had…half-expected her hero to catch her. Unfortunately, this was no such fairytale…this was reality. And in reality, Sonic was resigned to his fate. He was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for his sins.

Presently too weak to stand, Amy used her remaining drops of determination to crawl towards her hero. So near now…her stumble must've carried her rather far. Giving her last effort to intervene, Amy reached out to her limit and grasped his ankle. Feeble as her hold was, she also said hoarsely "Don't…Sonic…please…hahh…please…don't…"

At first, she was certain that she'd failed. The ankle that had been barely secured in her grasp had jerked away and left her groping at the wind. A tear slid down her cheek as she imagined her hero tumbling down to his demise…

"I'm still here…Ames. What do you want?"

Ha…how cold. No he hadn't jumped, that was good, but where had his heart gone? She had just run herself ragged to save him, and now this? Still…it was alright. At least she had gotten him to listen.

Allowing herself a moment to catch her breath, the hero yet waited with callous impatience. Weaker than could be considered anywhere near healthy, Amy chose to speak regardless, knowing he might change his mind at any moment "Sonic…I won't...I won't let you do this to yourself." She heard him scoff mockingly, as if to bluntly point out how little say she had in his fate "Sonic please…don't hide from me, don't shut me out…"

While sitting up as best she could, Amy was stabbed by a jolt of pain in her spine. Agonizing as this was, it brought about two positive results: One, her outcry had somehow retriggered Sonic's protective nature and had drawn him close to her side. Two, it had reminded her of something truly helpful she'd been told earlier today "Sonic, I want you to talk, and…to be honest with me." Trying her best to remember how it went, Amy recited "If…if that means being sad and letting your sorrows out, so be it. Anything is better than festering in your anger. But don't forget that you still have friends left, friends that love you dearly."

Unmoved as he seemed at first, Sonic's iron face soon softened up slightly as he replied "No Ames… W-What I've done…it's… it's too terrible. I don't deserve to live…not after what I did to Eggman…not after what I exposed you to." His palpable pain seeped out, but this was good, he was talking to her. Trying her best to sit up higher, Amy grabbed her hero's upper arm. She didn't care that her gloves were stained by the ruby red splotches on his fur.

"I'm not afraid of you, Sonic." She reassured him "And what you did to Eggman, anyone of us would've done too. You lost yourself for a moment, but you never meant any harm to us, to me… Don't you think I know that?" That's exactly what she believed. His impure actions were a result of the evilest kind of provocation. He didn't deserve to bear this burden, even if he was a hero.

"T-Tails he…" Here Sonic began to lose control, not over his anger but over his sorrow "He lost his life…in my fight. I should've been the one to suffer, not him… He didn't deserve it, you didn't deserve it. I'm the one Eggman wanted! But…but I…failed my little bro…and I almost failed you too…I…" By now, the speedster's eyes were shimmering with built tears. Though she understood his woe all too well, Amy couldn't deny how strong he looked right now. He was showing his weakest side boldly, without running away.

Touching his cheek gently, Amy had her own argument to make "Sonic…we fought him together, not just you. I think Eggman hated everyone and everything so much that it drove him insane. Whether you were around or not, he would've wrecked so many lives anyway. Think about it Sonic, I would be dead right now if it wasn't for you. That's the actual truth, and you know it." Just when his sensitive side was about to vanish again, Amy had a plea to make "But it's all over now, so why can't we move on? Not right away, but someday Sonic…someday you have to get past this."

Long after her part was said, Sonic got back up to his feet, gazed over the cliff one final time, and turned to walk away "Maybe someday Ames…but not today."

She didn't argue; there was no point. As far as she was concerned, her task was complete. She'd kept Sonic from throwing everything away, and for now, that was enough…

Right as the crisis had passed; Amy now faced the daunting task of picking herself up. Next thing she knew, the young hedgehog found herself scooped up by none other than her somber hero. Stunned, and somewhat embarrassed by the unexpected attention, she barely heard him say "But…thank you…Amy. Without you and everyone else…I'd be lost by now…"

She sighed to herself. So he wasn't back to giving himself credit yet, but she supposed…that was fine. If Sonic could beat back the darkest, blackest thoughts inside him, she was certain he would eventually recover as well. She had faith in him, and so did the rest of his friends, even when he lacked any in himself.

Resigned to the hope that all would be healed in time, Amy nuzzled in close and drifted off to sleep in the safety of her hero's arms.

-l-

The End

-l-

Well this is by far the darkest and most melodramatic shtuff I've ever let myself write. Admittedly, I'm not so sure this is what my requester had in mind, but here it is nonetheless. I think I'll be taking a break from dark fics after this. Anyways, as always, I hope someone likes this for whatever worth it has. As to any possible reviews about how unfinished some aspects of this fic may seem, all was intentional. In reality, not all conflicts get resolved. So as to add a sense of realism, I left a bit of 'what do you think?' in the story's conclusion.

**Revived note: Don't like it? Don't slam it! Concrit is welcome, NOT FLAMING!**

My thanks again to **coldstone4815** for the inspiring request.

Until next time.


End file.
